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http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/619-count-out-loud-when-measuring-lots-of-ingredientshttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/619-count-out-loud-when-measuring-lots-of-ingredients
Measuring lots of cups, Tablespoons or teaspoons in succession? Counting out loud will slightly make you look like a dork but not as much of a dork than if you add 2 Tablespoons too much margarine and ruin your brownies. So don't be afraid to count out loud! ]]>Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:49:38 -04006192010-06-12http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/618-dampen-hands-for-sticky-doughhttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/618-dampen-hands-for-sticky-dough
Is the bread, brownie or cookie dough sticking to your hands as you're trying to shape it or form it? Dampening your hands with water will get you out of this sticky situation and make the dough easier to work with. ]]>Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:42:48 -04006182010-06-12http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-sprout-grainshttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-sprout-grains
I have an obsession with sprouting grains and legumes. I think it's related to my obsession of inviting nature take its sweet time to process your raw ingredients in it's own special way. Sprouting instead of cooking has many advantages if you have the roughly three days to spare. Supplanting puréed sprouted grains for some or all of your flour is also a great way to make hearty breads. ]]>Wed, 19 May 2010 21:05:17 -04005882010-05-19http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/whats-the-best-way-to-store-breadhttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/whats-the-best-way-to-store-bread
So now that you're making your own bread, or at least enjoying your favorite tasty bread to the fullest, how do you store it so it's as good as possible for as long as possible? I've seen it all in bread storage schemes. Bread stored in paper bags, in the freezer, in the refrigerator; I remember a friend who's Mom stored even it in the microwave oven, using it as a makeshift bread box. The question of how to best store bread is difficult to answer. This is because it depends on what your goal is: Are you planning on keeping high quality bread as fresh as possible for a few days so it can be used for the next chowdown with minimal staling? Are you just trying to squeeze maximum longevity of your sandwich bread to it can be used up before it starts to mold? ]]>Sat, 15 May 2010 00:47:50 -04005842010-05-15http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-make-a-wild-yeast-starterhttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-make-a-wild-yeast-starter
Having a wild yeast starter (also known as a sourdough starter) in your possession can lead to a whole new wold of fascinating flavors and food experiences. Everything from breads, pancakes, quick breads to pizza crusts can be made with wild yeasted dough, which has no need for commercial bread yeasts. Think of it as your magic little dough friend that's actually alive, waiting to morph into and enhance whatever you introduce it to. ]]>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:26:49 -04005582010-04-16http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/the-great-agave-syrup-debatehttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/the-great-agave-syrup-debate
I like to advocate most things in moderation, which obviously includes vegan baked goods. Sweets are in no way, shape or form a part of a healthy diet. Even if you take the sugar completely out of baked goods, the refined flour alone will probably spike your blood sugar to unhealthy levels. That said, sweets sure are fun to eat every once in awhile aren't they? I believe there are certain food products that don't apply to the everything in moderation mantra and they should be avoided as much as possible. These unhealthy food products can usually easily be substituted by other products that are less detrimental to health, with virtually no reduction in the quality of the baked item. If we can do this, then why the heck not? What food products am I talking about? Partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup come to mind. Recently there has been talk of a new food product that might need to be added to this list: agave syrup. ]]>Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:18:45 -04005512010-04-06http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/545-keep-your-caramel-from-crystallizinghttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/545-keep-your-caramel-from-crystallizing
Add about 2 Tablespoons agave syrup or corn syrup to your caramel ingredients to keep your caramel from crystallizing after it cools. ]]>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:32:27 -04005452010-03-15http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/544-sift-your-flourhttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/544-sift-your-flour
When baking cakes or cupcakes, sift your flour before adding it. This will reduce clumping and aerate your flour, allowing it to rise more easily and make a more tender cake. ]]>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:01:52 -04005442010-03-15http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-write-a-recipehttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-write-a-recipe
The concept of reading words and numbers and using them to direct you to make something to eat is a strange thing. This simple list of directions is often the only companion you have in your quest to replicate what the original baker created. It's a good thing she meticulously listed all of the ingredients, their measures and thoroughly described all of the steps in an easy to follow manner. Or did she? If we were to go back in time a little over a hundred years or earlier, we would need a large heaping spoonful of luck for many of our recipes to turn out as they were intended. Luckily, recipe writing has evolved. Read on to find out how to write a recipe so it's interpreted in a clear, fun and informative way. ]]>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:00:00 -05005412010-03-10http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/539-know-your-glutenhttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/539-know-your-gluten
When gliadin and glutenin proteins join together with the aid of moisture they form gluten. The more gluten in your flour, the more water required to hydrate these proteins into gluten. This is why bread flour requires more water than cake flour. ]]>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:46:46 -05005392010-03-07http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/538-know-how-long-to-knead-breadhttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/538-know-how-long-to-knead-bread
Knead your yeast-leavened bread dough until it springs back when poked with a finger. Usually this is after 12 to 15 minutes of kneading. Don't worry, it's not possible to overwork the gluten by hand-kneading. ]]>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:42:47 -05005382010-03-07http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/vegan-yogurt-reviewhttp://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/vegan-yogurt-review
Your baked items are only as good as your ingredients. I'm unaware of a single case where this isn't true. It's one of the reasons I stopped using tofu in my recipes years ago, although there are certain rare occasions where it shines. Plain yogurt provides a great way to add complex flavor and introduce mild binding properties to your recipe. It's not going to bind as much as an egg, but in things like cakes, pancakes and muffins you don't need powerful egg replacers anyway. Read on for my review of the top four plain vegan yogurts currently on the US market. ]]>Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:04:00 -05005222010-02-27http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/517-let-baking-sheets-cool-before-adding-more-cookieshttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/517-let-baking-sheets-cool-before-adding-more-cookies
Embarking on a cookie baking marathon? Let your baking sheets cool down before you put the next batch of cookie dough on them so they don't spread out too early and end up burning. When I ran my cookie company, I would refer to unwanted cookie spread as cookies 'farting out'. ]]>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:39:31 -05005172010-02-19http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/516-toast-nuts-for-maximum-flavorhttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/516-toast-nuts-for-maximum-flavor
If you're cooking or baking with nuts and they're going to be under heat for less than 20 minutes in the final recipe, toast them before adding them to the recipe for maximum flavor. To do this heat your oven to 300F (149C) place your nuts on a baking sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes or until golden. ]]>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:34:43 -05005162010-02-19http://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/515-tapioca-or-arrowroot-flour-absorbs-excess-moisture-in-pies-or-cobblershttp://www.veganbaking.net/component/content/article/63-articles/tips/515-tapioca-or-arrowroot-flour-absorbs-excess-moisture-in-pies-or-cobblers
Mixing a Tablespoon or two of tapioca or arrowroot flour into your fruit filling will cause excess juices to gel, reducing runniness while improving the mouthfeel of your pie or cobbler. ]]>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:29:02 -05005152010-02-19